Accident Prone
by gk98
Summary: Because Bella's always been accident prone, hasn't she? Carlisle finds out just what being a father means. Rated T just to be safe. Tell me if you think it should be more than a one-shot?
1. Chapter 1

**Carlisle POV**

I was checking on one of my patients when I noticed Dr. Webber and Dr. Bailey rushing down the hallway. I examined a few of the machines, said goodbye to the patient and then I went out into the hall. A few of Dr. Bailey's interns were hurrying down the hall after them. I called out to one of them.

"Excuse me, Dr. Stevens, but what has happened?" I asked the usually bubbly girl.

"Um, there has been an accident, Dr. Cullen. A bus crashed and the victims are being brought here," she told me in a rushed tone. Then she raced off down the hall, trying to catch up with the other interns.

I checked my pager. Nothing. It was unusual that I wasn't paged. It must have been a rather large accident with a lot of victims. They would need all of the Attendings, wouldn't they? I decided even if I hadn't been paged I could still lend a hand and with that I walked down to the receiving bay.

When I arrived I found that all of the Attendings were there as well as a few Residents. I grabbed a gown and a pair of gloves and put them. I could hear Dr. Webber and Dr. Shepherd's conversation from where I was with my enhanced senses.

I became suspicious when Dr. Webber said, "Make sure Carlisle isn't involved," so I walked over to where they were standing.

"Ah, Dr. Cullen! I don't think we will need your help on this case," said Dr. Webber, looking rather nervous.

Just then, the first ambulance pulled up. A girl no older than six was pulled out with a gash on her forehead. The sweet aroma of blood filled my nose but I ignored the burn as I had for so many years previous.

So it was a school bus that crashed! I hope that none of the poor children were hurt too badly!

The gurney was surrounded by Doctors and taken into the E.R.

"Carlisle, can you please check on my post-op patients. I may be a while," said Dr. Webber in a desperate attempt to get me away. I wondered why the chief didn't want me on this case as I turned away.

Before I had taken two steps the ambulance that had just pulled up, opened the doors and I recognized a familiar floral scent. Bella!

I turned around and I saw my sweet daughter lying on a gurney covered in blood. I gasped and saw Richard cringe in my peripheral vision.

"Carlisle," he started, but I was already rushing over to the gurney and grabbing Bella's small, pale hand, struggling to keep a human pace. I walked alongside the gurney as the paramedics pushed it towards the doors.

Bella's eyes flickered open at the recognition of my cold hand. Her eyes found me and she smiled feebly.

"Hi, Daddy," she said weakly.

"Bella, my child, I wasn't supposed to see until after I got home," I said, struggling to keep it together and not break down sobbing.

"Surprise!" she said, managing a weak smile.

I looked down her small body and saw cuts, scratches and bruises decorating her pale skin. Her head was in a bandage but what worried me the most was the shard of metal protruding from her abdomen.

We were almost inside when I felt a hand grab my shoulder to stop me. I could of pushed it off easily but I stood and watched as they wheeled Bella inside. Only when I could no longer see her did I turn to see who had stopped me.

I was faced with Dr. Shepherd.

"We will take care of her, Carlisle," said Dr. Shepherd, trying to reassure me. "Why don't you call Esme," he said gently. I nodded and watched as he went to assist with the ambulance that had just pulled up.

I walked slowly inside, trying to perceive why it must always be Bella that was hurt. Sweet, innocent, shy, little Bella.

We had adopted Bella when she was two years old. The whole family had grown to love her and would do anything to protect her. She was now fourteen and went to Seattle Presbyterian College.

No one could have picked her up from school today because the other children were on a compulsory school camp and Esme had some errands to run so she had to catch the bus home today. Why was it today of all days that the bus had to crash?

I walked to my office slowly. I was listening acutely to Bella's heartbeat as I grabbed the phone and dialled the number I knew so well.

Esme picked up on the second ring.

"Carlisle! Is she all right? How badly is she hurt? Alice called two minutes ago and told me. I'm on my way to pick the children up from camp early. I'll be there in less than an hour!" she all but shouted at me.

"I don't know how she is. Richard made me leave but I'm sure Bella will pull through. She's always been so stubborn." I got a small but stiff giggle at the last part. "I love you Esme and I'll see you soon," I said and hung up the phone.

I sat down on the floor, leaning against my desk and cradled my head in my hands. I could still hear Bella's heartbeat. It was weak but steady. From what I could gather from the other doctors' conversations, Bella was going to need emergency surgery.

I knew that Dr. Bailey and Dr. Webber were some of the best surgeons in the world and this isn't nearly as bad as the worst thing they have successfully dealt with but, hey, that's what I get for being a parent.

My beautiful daughter had grown into a lovely young woman and her brothers had their hands full keeping hormonal teenage boys away from Bella.

Bella had always been accident-prone. She had broken her arm when she was six and then her collarbone the year after. She was always tripping over thin air and falling over.

She was a sweet, clumsy child with the gentlest nature. Bella had the entire family wrapped around her finger.

I sighed and went to go and check on the post-op patients to distract myself. It was going to be a long next couple of hours.

**Bella POV**

_Beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…_

Aggghh! Stupid alarm clock! Besides, Alice usually turned it off before it even started and then jumped on my bed to wake me up anyway. Why hasn't Alice turned it off? Well, I guess this is better than falling on the floor every morning.

I tried to open my eyes only to find that they were as heavy as lead. I sighed and a cold, marble hand squeezed mine.

I was more successful this time and my eyes fluttered open. I was met with pools of striking gold.

I blinked again and everything came into focus. The pools of gold were a pair of eyes that belonged to my father. He smiled gently and squeezed my hand again. This was weird! Dad hadn't woken me up since I was six.

I looked around and realised that my bedroom walls were not white and that I had an uncomfortable tube taped under my nose. Dammit! I was in the hospital again. And my stomach felt like someone had dipped me in a pool of acid!

"What happened this time?" I asked my father.

"The school bus crashed, dear, and you were impaled by a shard of metal," he told me, patting my hand, which had a needle taped to it.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Dad just chuckled. I sighed and glanced around the room.

"Is Mum here?" I asked him.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey guys. Since you loved this story so much I will continue on with it. I will just warn you now that updates may not be regular but I have not forgotten about it! Tell me if you want anything in particular to happen and we'll go from there. Anyway, here is the second chapter and please, please review – they make me happy.**

_**Bella**_

I sat in the uncomfortable, white hospital bed, fiddling with the sleeve of my gown as Alice braided my hair.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry! Just a little bit longer and…there. Ta da!" she chirped, handing me a compact mirror. I stared at my reflection and it glared right back at me. Alice had somehow managed to make sense of the bird's nest that was currently my hair and braid it back into a simple plait. She was a miracle worker. Or just a hyper, crazy, fashion-obsessed vampire. Whatever rocks your boat.

"Now, what colour do you want your nails to be? Or I can just paint each one a different colour? Yes, that would work too," she sang happily.

I just scowled at my father who was sitting in the corner reading a very, very thick medical journal like the coward he was. He just looked sympathetically back at me, saying what do you want me to do? It's Alice.

Then my saviour in the form of my Mum breezed into the bland room with what seemed like 50 million bags.

"Hi, darling. I just picked up a couple of things from the store I thought you might need," she said, placing the bags on a chair.

"Thanks Mum."

"Oh, Bella, you have to put these on!" Alice said, rushing over to the bags and pulling out a set of very comfortable-looking pyjamas. The pants were dark blue with little white and red sparrows on them and the long-sleeved shirt was red. She also pulled out a white, knitted jumper which, knowing my family, was probably cashmere.

"You, out!" she said, pointing to Dad. He complied and got out of the chair. He kissed me on the forehead on his way past and then disappeared into the hallway, probably on his way to check on some of his other patients.

Mum and Alice helped me get dressed and when I was finally lying down again, I sighed. My stomach was burning uncomfortably from all that movement, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. Mum was now sitting in a chair beside my bed, reading a renovation magazine.

"Mum, where are the boys?" I asked. They had visited this morning but I hadn't seen them since.

"They just went out for a quick hunt. They should be back soon," she replied, not looking up from her magazine. I nodded and picked up the book Alice had brought me from my bedside table.

What seemed like minutes, but was probably hours later, Emmett, Jasper and Edward walked in the door. They all had wet hair as if they had showered recently and were wearing different clothes from this morning.

"Belly Bean!" Emmett called, racing over to give me a hug only to be barred by my mother, standing in front of him with her arms crossed.

"Gently please, Emmett. She's only been out of surgery for thirty nine hours," said Mum sternly. Emmett just smiled sheepishly and made a show of walking slowly around the end of my bed and leaning down to give me a small hug. I hugged him back, trying not to wince. I failed, of course, and Emmett pulled back quickly, murmuring apologies.

"I'm okay, Emmett. I promise," I told him.

"Are you in pain, Bella?" asked Mum.

"No!" I told her quickly, hoping my trademark blush wouldn't give me away. Apparently, it didn't need to.

"She's lying," said Edward and Jasper in unison. I grumbled something about stupid, empathetic and telepathic vampires as Alice pushed the call button for the nurse. I was surprised when, instead of the nurse, Dad walked in carrying a syringe. I frowned unhappily.

"I'm not going to sleep!" I told him.

"Bella, you need to heal. Your body has been through a lot in the last couple of days and you need rest," he insisted. I guess I really didn't have any choice because he put the medication in my IV any way. I felt the effects almost instantly and my eyelids started to droop. The last thing I saw before I succumbed to the blackness was Dad sitting down in the chair beside my bed and encasing my small hand in his large, icy one.

_**Carlisle**_

I watched as Bella's eyes fluttered shut and her breathing evened out. Esme pulled up another chair beside me and grabbed my other hand. She smiled lovingly down at our daughter.

Bella was so important and precious in our lives. She had become the daughter Esme and I had never had. Of course, we loved Alice and Rosalie, but they were adults capable of making their own decisions, not really needing our guidance. But Bella was still a little girl. She was also a little sister to Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie. They all loved her so much and I knew Bella loved them back. Her siblings looked out for her and in return, she them, just not in exactly the same way.

Then there was Edward. When Bella had come to us as a shy, fragile little two-year-old, she had made a connection with Edward almost instantly. None of us could manage to get more than a word out of her, but Edward got entire conversations. Of course, it did help that they were mates.

Edward beamed at my train of thought and caressed Bella's cheek softly. She smiled in her sleep and moved closer into his hand. Esme was as ecstatic as always at their connection and her grin was as wide as the moon. She had always worried that Edward was too young when he was changed and had literally jumped for joy when he had told us - I think we have all spent a little too much time around Alice. Their relationship wasn't romantic as of yet, but Edward was more than her best friend and whenever she was in the room he instantly gravitated towards her. I was so happy that my family was finally complete. Who would have thought that a little girl could have brought a family of vampires that were hundreds of years old so much happiness and joy?

I sighed as my pager went off and glanced down at it.

"I have to go sweetheart. I'll see you when my shift finishes," I told my beautiful wife, kissing her gently before I stood up and walked out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Bella**_

I stared down at my humanities textbook trying desperately to comprehend the sea of words swimming in front of my eyes. Alice had picked up some schoolwork from my teachers at my request and now I was starting to regret it. I had only asked her in the first place because I was bored of sitting in my bed and didn't want to fall behind. I was working really hard and doing quite well at school and no stupid bus crash was going to change that. Of course, it helped if you had a family that had basically lived through everything you were studying. I was going to have to ask Jasper what started World War I later. Right now I had a killer headache and my stomach felt horrible.

I ran my fingers through my hair and groaned. I desperately needed a shower. I got up slowly out of bed, wincing at the painful pulling of my stitches and stumbled into the small bathroom, pulling the various poles and machines that I was attached to with me. I stared glumly at my reflection in the small, rectangular mirror. I was paler than usual (which was saying something) and my long, dark hair only emphasised that. My eyes had dark shadows underneath them, just like my family when they were hungry. In fact, I currently resembled a vampire quite a bit. I think I had lost a fair amount of weight too, probably due to the fact that hospital food was disgusting and I rarely even touched whatever the nurses bought me. I sighed and splashed a little bit of cool water on my face. It felt good on my slightly feverish skin.

"Bella?" someone called from my room. I dried myself off with a hand towel, and then walked slowly out of the bathroom to see Dr Bailey with four other people standing behind her. Interns, I guessed. Dr Bailey was probably one of my favourite people here at the hospital. Dad and Edward liked her too, and they were very good judges of character. "What on earth are you doing out of bed?" she asked as I laid down back under the sheets. She was specialized in General Surgery and was currently my doctor, since Dad wasn't allowed to be. She was also very kind, even if she didn't always show it.

"Um, taking a break from studying and stretching my legs before they fall off," I said quietly, trying to stifle a yawn. They were slowly starting to take me off the really strong pain medication and sleep was becoming a bit harder to come by now. It was only three days after the accident and I had slept most of the time so I had no idea why I was so exhausted.

"Well, just don't let your father catch you otherwise he'd have my head," she said sternly. "Alright, who would like to present?" she asked the group of interns. Their hands shot up like arrows. "Umm, Yang," she said, pointing to a slight, dark-haired woman.

"Isabella Cullen, 14 year old female brought in after her school bus crashed with a small concussion and impaled in the lower abdomen with a shard of metal," Dr Yang said in one breath.

"Thank you, Dr Yang. How do you feel, Bella?" Dr Bailey asked me as she started to check my chart and a couple of the machines.

"Um, okay." Not really. Actually, right now I was feeling very nauseous. I closed my mouth and bit my lip, praying I wasn't going to throw up right now. I hoped I wasn't as green as I felt. I heard my heart monitor start beeping a little bit faster. Uh, I wish it would shut off. My head was pounding with every uneven beep it made and the pain in my stomach was excruciating. Dr Bailey walked over to me and put her hand on my forehead. I knew she would feel how feverish I was but right now I didn't care. My stomach was churning horribly and I thought I must have been as green as broccoli right now. I scrunched my eyes shut and put my hand over my mouth. Someone thrust a plastic container underneath me just in time for me to be violently sick.

After a while I was only coughing up bile. Each convulsion of my stomach sent me bending over the container, praying it would stop soon. I was pretty sure I wasn't supposed to be moving this much so soon after major surgery, and I was seconded by the agonizing pain in my stomach. I was faintly aware of doctors shouting and running around me. I opened my eyes and that was when I realized I hadn't been throwing up the near non-existent food in my stomach.

I had been vomiting blood.

I groaned and tried not to breathe through my nose, but that was easier said than done when you were throwing up. I smelt the horrible rust-and-salt smell and I gagged again. My breath came in short pants and I was on the verge of hyperventilation. I felt someone role me gently onto my side and remove my pillows from underneath my head. My stomach rolled again and I gasped, clutching at the burning pain in my abdomen. I felt someone pry away my hands from my stomach, lift up my shirt and remove the dressing. Then I heard that person, who I assumed was Dr Bailey, say a rather bad word which would have gotten me in trouble with my father if it had come out of my mouth.

With my vision blurry I looked down at source of the problem. I understood why they swore. The skin around my stitches was red and angry and the wound itself was weeping and leaking pus and fluid. I gagged at the sight and threw up into the container again. I struggled for oxygen and my lungs burned. I panted and gasped, trying desperately to bring oxygen into my lungs. My head was pounding and my vision was going dark around the edges. Someone was shaking and jerking me so hard it hurt.

Only a few moments later did I realise that someone was me.

I felt a pair of icy hands on my arms, holding me down gently but firmly while an oxygen mask was placed over my nose and mouth. I inhaled oxygen frantically, trying to ease the pain.

"Daddy! It hurts," I gasped, opening my eyes and trying desperately to find his face, but seeing nothing. I panicked and the convulsions got worse. Everything hurt.

Time passed in uneven intervals and I was unsure of what was happening around me. My only companion was the darkness.

Where was my daddy?

I wanted my daddy.

Where was he?

"Bella, sweetheart, it's okay, darling. You're going to be okay." I heard my daddy's voice and searched blindly for his face. Everything was blurred like watercolours. I found a halo of gold above me and knew it was him. My daddy. My Protector.

"It hurts," I whimpered.

"I know, angel, I know. Just hang on for a second."

I gagged and another fountain of blood erupted from my mouth. Some caught in my throat and I choked and spluttered, trying frantically to breathe. I was turned onto my side again (I hadn't realised that I was on my back) and I coughed, my body shaking and convulsing. Someone was shouting. I only caught fragments of the conversation.

"Urgently….O.R…. infection…. surgery."

"Bella, I need you to take deep breaths okay. I need you to stay with us," a voice which wasn't my father's told me. I wasn't really listening. My surroundings darkened and then we were in a brilliant light. I was barely aware of hands touching and prodding. A small, sharp pain stabbed my right hand, but was drowned out by other, more prominent pains.

"Daddy? Where's Edward. Why isn't Edward here?" I mumbled incoherently. I'm not sure if he understood me.

"Shhh, Bella. It's okay. Please be still, sweetheart," he asked me, pleadingly. I wasn't aware that I was still shaking. I felt lots of hands grab me, lots of them warm and soft, but one marble pair stood out from all the rest. They lifted me up and I cried out, trying feebly to escape their iron grasp.

"No, please let go," I whimpered.

"Shhh, sweetie." This voice was higher and rougher than my father's and their hands were too hot. I flinched away from the heat and cringed at another sharp pain, this time in my chest. My breaths came in short pants and I clutched at my torso, trying to drag the oxygen I so desperately needed into my lungs. I heard shouts and cries and beeping. The darkness pushed down on me as heavy as the skies and I tried to resist it. But I wasn't Atlas. The weight pushed down on me, suffocating me, pulling the oxygen from my lungs, crushing me. I screamed and screamed but no one heard me. Not even myself.

And then I was floating. All the pain was gone.

But I was sad. I couldn't feel anything and it scared me. I couldn't even feel the pain. I couldn't find my daddy, either. Or Edward. Where was Edward? He said he would always be there. Why isn't he here?

I didn't like this place. I did not like it one single bit at all. I wanted to go back, even if the other place had pain. But it also had light and warmth and Daddy and Mama and Alice and Jasper and Emmett and Rosalie and… Edward. Most importantly it had Edward.

I tried so hard to go back. I tried so, so hard. But nothing happened. I was engulfed in the blackness, in the cold. I heard nothing. I saw nothing. I felt nothing.

Actually, my chest was tingling slightly. Then the tingling grew until it was a discomfort. And the discomfort grew into pain. And the pain grew into excruciating, white-hot agony. I gasped and air rushed into my lungs. I heard beeping and the mechanical whirring of machines. But most importantly, I felt a hard, cold hand stroking my forehead.

"Bella, you're alright. You're going to be alright," the smooth, honey voice told me. I tried to open my eyes but they were as heavy as lead. "Shhhh, Bella. It's alright, now. Go to sleep. Go to sleep…" The honey voice trailed off into a sweet, soothing melody. I felt darkness wash over me, but this darkness wasn't incapacitating and frightening. It was numbing. I felt safe. So I succumbed to the blackness.


End file.
